|
Posted by nucleus on July 8, 2009, 8:49 am
several things:
1. Zyp is right! all duct joints should be checked for leaks,
especially after
hurricane damage.
2. don't rely on one contractor's input, get several inputs.
3. were the flooded walls gutted? i hope u removed any wet
insulation.
if walls were opened or are still bare, u need a heat balance
sheet
performed on the house.
4. are your ducts in the walls, attic, under the floor, where? how
high did
the floodwater get?
5. with insufficient funds to work with, a new AC and a new duct
system
will only partially solve your temp problem (u need major
insulation and
window improvements)
6. pres's new ARRA (american recovery and reinvestment tax act of
2009) allows
a tax credit 30% of product cost (up to $1500) for energy
improvements.
7. i know u probably cannot afford it, but u should talk to a cpa or
tax attorney
about the irs issue (i know a guy who (though an attorney) got the
irs to
re-think his unusual situation). isn't there such a thing as
arbitration?
wrote:
> 1. The guy is (as far as I know) a licensed HVAC person. =A0But he is
> dismissing the condition of the windows and attic. =A0Glossing over those
> problems if you will.
> 2. As I said - we can barely afford the new a/c unit. =A0There are other
> problems as well. =A0Allisan flooded our house and black mold got into th=
e
> ducts as well - which is also a big incentive to replace the entire a/c
> unit. =A0(I can send/post a picture of one of our vents which has black
> mold growing around the vent.) =A0So our choice is - insulate the attic
> and have black mold and bad a/c or change out the a/c, get rid of the
> mold, and have great cooling. =A0We want the latter.
> 3. I'll have to call Reliant and see what they say about this.
> 4. Yeah, I know it is a fire hazard. =A0When Allisan came through we got
> rid of it downstairs but then the contractor walked on us and took all
> of the money. =A0So we never got the upstairs re-insulated. =A0Since then
> we've been hit by one problem after another. =A0(Funerals, extraneous
> bills, IRS saying we owed them $10,000.00 because a company I had worked
> for did NOT pay the taxes on the money I had made even though they DID
> take it out of my paycheck, and so on.) =A0So we are pretty much
> piss-poor. =A0So our choices are: A)Get a new a/c and forget about the
> need for new insulation, or B)Get new insulation and forget about the
> a/c. =A0We can only do one or the other - not both. =A0So we are going wi=
th
> option A.
> What about the equation stuff? =A0Even a qualified HVAC person will do
> some equations. =A0The thing is - do they have to blindly follow them? =
=A0Or
> can they adjust them according to the situation?
> Thanks! :-)
> Zyp wrote:
> > Simulacrom1 wrote:
> >> We are looking to replace our 4 ton a/c unit in our house. =A0Here are
> >> the stats on the house:
> >> 1. 2200 sq ft house
> >> 2. Three attics (front, back, middle)
> >> 3. Insulation =3D shredded newspaper treated with flame retardant.
> >> a. The insulation is crumbling into dust.
> >> 4. Windows on house are single paned, aluminum CHEAP windows
> >> a. The kind used in houses in the 1960s.
> >> 5. House was built in 1964.
> >> 6. Windows are chaulked but still leak tremendous amounts of heat/cool
> >> because, as I said, they are cheap windows. =A0(You can feel the heat
> >> radiating off of them right now.)
> >> Questions:
> >> 1. The a/c guy only wants to replace our 4 ton unit with another 4 ton
> >> unit. =A0His reason is that technology has advanced and a new 4 ton un=
it
> >> will work better and cool better. =A0Question: Will it?
> >> 2. Our contention is that (as the a/c guy explained to us)
> >> 2200sqft/500 =3D 4.4 tons of a/c. =A0Question: If the equation comes o=
ut
> >> to be 4.4 tons - shouldn't the a/c guy go to at least 4.5 tons?
> >> 3. Given all of the bad problems with the house (and yes - we should
> >> reinsulate the house and get better windows - but I'm unemployed and
> >> we can barely afford to get the new a/c) - Question: Should the a/c
> >> guy blindly follow the specs he is quoting or should he realize that,
> >> given the condition of the house, he should increase the number of
> >> tons to compensate for the conditions?
> >> Our outlook is that, given the conditions of the house, a larger unit
> >> would work better. =A0We might have to pay more for it but at least,
> >> here in Houston, Texas - we would stay cool inside while the
> >> temperature outside rises to over 100 degrees.
> >> Please give me some feed back on this because we would like to be able
> >> to present some valid arguments to the a/c person (other than what
> >> we've already pointed out to this guy) on exactly why this blue book's
> >> equations can not be strictly adhered to and instead need to be
> >> modified to our needs.
> >> Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
> >> Mark Manning
> > Hey - Mark Manning:
> > 1. =A0The only method to determine the correct needs of a structure is =
to have
> > LOAD ENGINEERING performed by an LICENSED HVAC contractor or a LICENSED
> > P.E. -
> > 2. =A0It is likely that your existing system leaks air into other space=
s
> > besides the conditioned space [your living quarters.] =A0Most systems
> > installed years ago leak at a rate of about 30% or more. =A0[I just per=
formed
> > a duct test on two homes this week, the 4-ton leaked over 400 cfm and t=
he 3-
> > ton leaked just under 300 cfm.] =A0Just think of the savings if that co=
oled /
> > heated air was put where it belongs instead of in the attic. =A0Several=
states
> > currently required duct testing as part of the permitting process.
> > 3. =A0Replacement equipment is more efficient than the older equipment =
and can
> > reduce your monthly utility cost. =A0It has been determined that the hi=
gher
> > efficiency equipment will pay for itself through energy / utility savin=
gs.
> > Most utility's offer rebates reducing your initial costs.
> > 4. =A0Attic and wall insulation plays an important role in reducing you=
r
> > utility costs and can increase your family's comfort. =A0Have that news=
paper
> > removed from the attic [which by the way is a fire hazard although you
> > believe it has flame retardant] and have insulation bates either laved =
or
> > blown in. =A0That alone will reduce your utility costs annually. And yo=
u might
> > be able to get the local utility to help pay a major portion of the cos=
ts.- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap
>I am not a HVAC contractor. Just another homeowner trying to learn
>more about HVAC in order to make good decisions. So do your own
>thinking about my recommendations.
>I would go with the 4 ton unit. My reasoning is that you can do some
>things to improve the house yourself. I would start by taking a
>sample of the newspaper insulation outside and see if it will burn.
>Next add insulation to your attic. The cost is likely to be a little
>as the difference between the 4 ton and the 5 ton air conditioner.
>Buy some caulk and caulk everywhere. $20 for caulk will probably
>reduce you electric bill by $20 over the air conditioning season.
>Ditto for weather stripping the doors and windows.
>Buy some of those plastic sheets to insulate your windows. They tape
>around the window and then you use a hair dryer to shrink them so
>there are no wrinkles.
>Switch to compact flouescent lamps. They use a lot less power and
>will reduce the amount of air conditioning you need. Check to see if
>there are other things that add heat to the inside of the house. For
>example your how water heater may be inside the house. You might be
>able to add insulation to it.
>Ask your HVAC guy about more things you can do fairly cheaply. Maybe
>better attic venting.
>Think about buying a window unit just for the bedroom so you can not
>air condition the whole house in order to get some sleep. Think about
>ceiling fans and just ordinary fans. I use a ordinary box fan bought
>at a garage sale for a couple of bucks set in the window to push out
>the hot air in the second story in the evenings. It brings the
>temperature down to what it is outside. Might not be any help in
>Houston during the summer, but would save running the air conditioner
>as much in te Spring and Fall. Dan
>